- 4
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chuck eye beef
- 1/2 bottle (plus) wine
- 2-3 T olive oil
- Heavy application Italian Seasonings to taste
- Salt and Pepper
- flour
- 2 small garlic cloves
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 T tomato paste or diced tomato
Preparation
Step 1
Heat a heavy braising pan on your burner with approximately 2-3 T of olive oil. Trim excess fat from beef and cut into serving pieces. Salt and pepper your beef and season heavily with Italian Seasonings, rubbing all your seasonings into the meat surface. Lightly flour the meat. Peel 2 garlic cloves, slice them in half and brown a little in the olive oil first while your flame is still low. Burned garlic tastes bitter so be careful. Remove the garlic. What you are doing here is
flavoring the oil.
Begin browning the beef on both sides. Brown it fast enough to give them a good deep color before they start to exude their juices. After browning the meat, remove from the pan and pour off excess fat. Place your beef back in the pan in one layer, add a bay leaf, and a diced tomato or about a tablespoon of tomato paste. Pour in wine to a depth of about half way up the
sides of your beef. Cover and place in a preheated 350 degree oven for 1 hour.
Remove and check for doneness and amount of liquid. Turn your piece(s) over. Normally the meat will need to cook 30-45 minutes for the whole finished recipe. Check meat after another 30 minutes. By his time the aromas that fill your kitchen will be wonderful. If your meat is then falling apart tender and you are left with about 1/4 cup of shiny sauce, you are ready. Allow it to stand covered about 10 minutes before serving. It's always nice to drink the same wine with your dish that you used to go in it.
Allen's note
First you don't need Barola. A good hearty wine like a Cabernet will work just fine. Use a cut of beef called 'chuck eye' It's a well marbled piece of meat, adapts well to braising and is succulent when cooked.